American Airlines to resume Haiti flights Friday

DALLAS — American Airlines says it will resume regular flights to Haiti on Friday, the first commercial flights since the island nation was hit by an earthquake Jan. 12.

American said Tuesday that its first flight into Port-au-Prince will leave Friday morning from Miami International Airport.

The airline will operate three daily nonstop flights from Florida to Haiti, two from Miami and one from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The airline said it will also offer a single flight four days a week from New York's Kennedy Airport.

American will use its Boeing 737 jets, which typically have 148 seats, and 767 aircraft, which have 168 or 225 seats.

American's sister regional carrier, American Eagle, will start nonstop service once a day March 12 to Haiti from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and two flights from Santo Domingo and Santiago in the Dominican Republic, using smaller jets.

American and Eagle have made 30 relief flights to Port-au-Prince since the earthquake, according to the company. It has more than 100 employees in Haiti and has operated in the country since 1971.

The airline, based in Fort Worth, Texas, said it began repairing its airport facilities soon after the earthquake.

Although American had not announced a resumption of Haiti service until Tuesday, it had kept flights beginning Friday available for purchase in its reservations system while it sought permission for flights from Haitian and U.S. government officials.